REIT Brokers To Face More Suits, Fines

Law360, New York (May 24, 2013, 7:32 PM EDT) -- More states are likely to follow suit after Massachusetts fined several of the largest independent brokerage firms Wednesday over the improper sale of real estate investment trust shares, experts say, citing concerns about the growing popularity of the complex nontraded REIT market.

Investors have been drawn in large numbers to nontraded REITs over the last several years in search of yield, which has been difficult to find in other types of investment products with interest rates so low.